Bathing suit



L. E. LERNER BATHING SUIT June 14, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 25, 1956 INVENTOR. 10w: 4. Z fen 5e.

ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 E. LERNER 2,940,453

BATHING SUIT Filed Nov. 25, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

ZOV/f f. lie/V62.

ATTORNEY BA'I'HING SUIT Lovie E. Lerner, 1118 E. Jackson St., Elkhart, Ind.

Filed Nov. 23, 1956, Ser. No. 623,848

I Claims. 01. 128-454) This invention relates to improvements in bathing suits.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit incorporating buoyant material which will render a person wearing the garment buoyant even though'that person does not know how to swim or has been injured or rendered unconscious so as to be unable to swim.

A further object is to provide a swimming suit incorporating therein cellular plastic material having high properties of'buoyancy arranged in such fashion and manner as to be substantially concealed or camouflaged so that the garment has an attractive appearance when worn.

A further object is to provide a garment with buoyant portions formed from flat sheet stock of cellular buoyant material tending to normally maintain a flat shape but so fashioned in the garment as to substantially conform to body contour and to accord withthelines .one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. .2 is a back view of the garment;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a face view of a blank for a part of the suit illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on line 55 tof Fig. 1;

Fig. dis a fragmentary sectional view taken on line Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front view of a garment constituting a modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8-8 of' Fig. 4 and illustrating a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a face view of a part used in another modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front view of another modified embodmi ent of the invention;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line IL-11 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary front view of another modifled embodiment of the invention; and v Fig. 13 is a. fragmentary rear .view of the garment shown in Fig. 12. v 1 I Referring to thedrawings, and particularly to Figs. 1

too, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,

the numeral 10 designates a garment, such'as a bathing :suit, having a. portion 12 adapted to fit around the trunk nited States Patent 0 Patented J une 14,1960

or torso of the wearer, and leg portions 14. The garment is preferably a Womans garment incorporating therein a brassiere portion 16. The garment may be constructed throughout in a substantially conventional fashion or in any manner found suitable. Thus the back of the garment may be open vertically for a portion of the length thereof, as at the center of the rear thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 2, adequate to accommodate convenient donning and removal of the garment. Suitable fastening means 18, such as a conventional slide fastener, may be employed to secure together the upper parts of the back of the garment as it is Worn.-

The material of which the garment is formed may be any material which is found suitable, and such material may include elasticized fabric, lining fabric, reinforcing or strengthening fabrics applied at stressed areas, and fabrics having inherent extensibility or elasticity.

Cellular materials are now available upon the market which possess a high degree of buoyancy. .Such materials are commonly formed of plastics or synthetic resins, and vinyl type plastics are particularly well suited to cellular internal structure with cells substantially separated so as to provide uniformly dispersed non-communicating individual voids, reducing the specific gravity of the material materially to provide a high degree of buoyancy. One such material which has a high degree of buoyancy is known as Ensolite and is the product of the United States RubberCompany. This material is preferred because it is unicellular in nature. Other materials are also available on the market at the present terial is that it tends normally to maintain its fiat form and resists draping by flexing in more than one direction. Consequently, prior attempts to use the material have been limited. To the best of my knowledge, all prior attempts to use the cellular buoyant sheet material in a bathing garment have been unsuccessful because the garments so produced appeared to be excessively bulky and have revealed the use of the cellular material therein. Such appearance characteristics have been unpleasing to the eye, so that prospective purchasers have felt that Wearing of the garments would be unflattering and have refused to purchase the garments.

I have found that it is possible, to incorporate into a bathing suit an adequate quantity of a cellular buoyant material to provide full and safe buoyancy of the wearer, and at the same time provide attractive and commercially salable styles, when using the material in its normal sheet form. This is to be distinguished from employing cellular buoyant material which is molded to shape deby a plurality of substantially V cuts 22 extending inwardly from the margin thereof toward the center in a. relation to outline a shape'having an appearance 'generally similar to the arrangement and appearance of the petals of certaintypes of flowers, such'as daisies. 'ltwill V be understood that the blank 3 I H V will be of generally oval or modified'oval form or outline with the 'outer edges thereof curved. The blank 20 will preferably be skived or otherwise shaped or tapered at itsmargins, so that'the central portion thereof will be substantially of 'full thickness but the. petal portions or segments .24 between the cuts 22 will progressively decrease in thickness toward their; outer edges. The shape of the blank will be such by the blank. when the edges'of the .petal portions 24 separated by the cuts 22 are'brought into engagement with each other.

' cellular material in the portion of the unit nearest the that the desired cup shape of a bras'siere will be assumed Thepart 29 is preferably confined between an outer j layerof fabric 26 and an 'inner layer of fabric 28, the same being stitched together, as at-30, aro1'1nd the mar- .gin of the member 20 for the purpose of holding the flexed petal parts 24 in substantially continuous edge ['c'ontactwith eachother to define the cup-shape desired and substantially as illustrated in Fig.3. If desired; the

, member 20 may have a plurality ,ofapertures 32 formed therein to accommodatev passage of air and'water there through forthe purpose of overcoming discomfort to the wearer occasioned by reason of the high heat insulating properties of the cellular material. I V

' I'twill also be understood, that the petal members 25 may be completely disconnected and may take the shape of'substantially triangular parts, as shown in Fig. 9,

.-which-ca n be assembled in the arrangement'illustrated vin Fig. 3 by confining the same in proper relation to each other between inner and outer garment layers 26 and 28 suitablystitched together.

i The sizes of the two members 20, con'stituting the brassiere inserts, will normally be insufl'ici'ent to provide the buoyancy required in the suit, particularly in view of the reduction in the thickness ofthe margins thereof by .skiving required in order to provide the desired con-- 'tourof the brassieref l have found that it ispossible to increase the quantity of thejbuoyant material em- ,7

ployed in the suit 'atlthe 'brassiere portion thereof by ,iemploying strips 34 of the cellular material 'which. are

of approximately circular 'or part-circularlcross-sectional shape and which preferably are of a thickness greater,

than the thickness of the marginal portion, of the biasably extend completely around each insert or blank porftion 20 {of'the brassiere in'the', fashion shown in Fig. 3, r

ibeing anehoredjin place by the 'fabriclayers 26 and 28 or'either thereof and by stitching 35. The marginal strip 34 willpreferably'have itsrcurved or contoured portion ,uppermost. It will be understood thatthe curvature of strip 34 in cross-section need not be part-circular but "may be of any cross-sectional contour desired or which will produce a desired'or attractive appearance' The strip in 4' of stitching 40, as shown in place, as by means Fig. 6. V v V 7 It is obviously desirable to incorporate. as much of the head as is possible, so as to cause, the body of a person who may be unconscious in the water, to assume a position holding the head abovewater level. This purpose can be promoted by incorporating within a shoulder strap 42 of the garment a strand 44 of the cellulose material sheathed or enclosed within the fabric46. The sheath or fabric 46 will preferably be of sufiicient strength to sustain the stresses and withstand the stretching action to which a shoulder strap is normally subjected in use. In other words, the sheath 46 will sustain all stresses, or

substantially all stresses, thus relieving the cellular insert sciousness is a 'matter of considerable concern by reason of the popularity of the sport of water skiing. sport entails the hazard of spills while traveling at high speed,

with the danger that the skier who falls from his skis may strike the skis, or the water, or obstructions or materials floating on the water insuch a way as to become temporarily unconscious or blacked out following the fall. The present garment, constructed as described herein,'-h'as the buoyant areas thereof so oriented therein as I to tend to cause the body of an unconscious wearer to assume the position'of greatest protection against drowning, as will be evident.

. 'In' the event the shoulder straps 42,01 the marginal inserts 36 or. 34, or all thereof, are o'mitted for design purposes or other reasons, or in the event that the total volume or cuba'geof the buoyant material employed in the inserts 20, 34, 36 and 44 is insulficient to provide the buoyancy necessary for the, weztrerpitis possible to e, 'siere-forming insert 20. I One or more; strips 34 prefer use of the strips 34 serves somewhat to camouflage the 1;

increased thickness of the bras'siere portionof the suit as to district attention from thebulged condition resulting from *the thickness of the material of which ithe member: 20 is formed, which might otherwise give a padded appearance objectionable because of its. un-

natural prominence, as compared'with the normal bras- 1 'siere portion'sof bathing suits.

The provision of a thickenedtrim strip around a 'brassiere can also be achieved'as 'seenI-in Fig. 8 ;wherein f 'such strip 34'is integral 'withi'member 20 and is formed i b' trimming or skiving a blank 20 or by molding thereof 7 to desired shape and contour. a V

' Y can further be emphasized or carried out by continuing the use of'a strip of the Theappearance of a trim cellular material at the top margin of the back of the suit, as at 36. As here fillustrateithe strip' is of a cross-sectional configuration presenting a curved outer surface, and in cases where the same is applied to a .portion of the suit by which only :a single'thickness' of material 38-occurs in the suit; that suiting-material may extend completely around the strip 36 to'anchor that add suflicient additionalbuoyant material to provide the required buoyancy, without detracting from the appearance of the garment, by designingthe same with projections extending below the bras siere portion of the suit. Such projections can be of attractive design which tends to reduce the prominence of the ,brassiere portion and to avoid the appearance of objectionable size or bulk.

One way in which this can'be accomplished is by employing inserts of the cellular buoyant material at 50, projecting below the 'bra'ssiere portion, either directly from the brassiere insert 20 or from the brassiere border 34. The inserts 50 will preferably bepositioned symmetrically below each of the brassiere' inserts 20. and

preferably will be of'tape'red outline or configuration to be of greatest width at their upper ends and narrowing at the lower'ends thereof either to a point or toia desired attractive lower end configuration. It will be understood that'theinserts 50 may be skived to provide a crosssectional configuration which preferably presents a curved transverse appearance thereof when worn, or any otherJcros's-sectional shape deemed attractive. The inserts 50 will be confined within pockets formed in the fabric or other material of which the garment is formed, comparable to the pockets formed to confine the other inserts 20, 34, '36'and 44. The taper of parts 50, lengthwise and in cross seotion, can be accomplished by skiving, trimming or shaping fiat block material or by molding thereof. V Another form of bathing suit employing a difierent arrangement of the buoyant cellular material is illustrated in Figs. 10and 11. In this arrangement a pluralitylof narrow elongatedfstrips of the buoyantcellular the garment who may be in an material are employed in the fabrication of a brassiere portion in a garment 10. Thus, as seen in Fig. 11, the strips 60 may be of any desired cross-sectional configuration, preferably substantially uniform through the length thereof, and these strips will be arranged edge to edge, as seen in Figs. and 11, being held-together byor confined within the outer fabric 62 and an inner fabric 64. The two fabrics 62 and 64 are preferably stitched together at 66 between the strips 60, with the stitching extending lengthwise along and between the adjacent edges of the strips 60. As seen in Fig. 10 the strips may vary in width throughout their length as for the purpose of producing a V out at 68 in the brassiere portion of the suit. The strips 60 will preferably be curved lengthwise to conform to the desired contour of the top edge of the suit, and preferably will continue across the back of the suit, as shown at 61 in Fig. 13. The strips 61 will preferably terminate adjacent the longitudinal center of the suit where the same is separated and provided with a slide fastener 70 or the like in the conventional manner. At points where the strips 60 pass under the arms of the wearer, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 13, the

cross-sectional configuration of the strips may vary from that in the front and rear portions of the strips in order to provide a generally tapered upper buoyant insert at 72.

The strips 60 will preferably form only the upper portions of the brassiere cups, and blocks 74 of the buoyant cellular material of desired shape will be incorporated below the lowermost strips 60 to complete the cup when anchored in place or retained by the inner and outer fabric sheath parts 62 and being stitched in place along the stitch lines 76. As seen in Fig. 11, the block 74 will preferably be skived so as to be tapered at its edges or margins to conform to the body contour and also to provide the desired appearance.

The strips 60, 61 being narrow compared to their length accommodate bending or shaping thereof through a wide range of shapes so as to lie in graceful patterns as assembled together, in other words, taking advantage of the linear or strip character of narrow sections of the flexible but normally fiat cellular buoyant material, enables a wide range of styling and a wide range of sizes of buoyant material to be incorporated within the garment.

In instances where it is desired to incoiporate an amount of the buoyant material in excess of that which is required to produce a brassiere and a rear trim, as above explained, it is possible to incorporate additional strip material in the manner illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 to the full extent required to provide the greatest amount of buoyancy required for all practical purposes. Thus the strips 78 may be incorporated in the garment 10 retained between inner and outer fabric sheet portions 62 and 64 by stitching between the strips comparable to the stitching 66 as previously explained. In this instance, however, the strips 78 commence at the lower portion of the brassiere and curve downwardly and rearwardly to join the rear trim strips 61. A plurality of strips may be provided, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, to provide an attractive or decorative appearance and to camouflage the bulk inherent in the use of the cellular buoyant material.

Considerable latitude as to the proportions, dimensions, shapes, contours and configurations of the various parts is possible in the styling of the garment, so that a large number of attractive appearances and styles can be produced. Each of these styles can take advantage of the normally flat sheet character in which the cellular buoyant material is fabricated most economically. 'Ihe styling and designing of the suit can render it sufliciently attractive in appearance to avoid objection on the score of lack of aesthetic properties which has handicapped the previous attempts of workers in the field to take advantage of the cellular buoyant material to produce a buoyant garment.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction and in the appearance of the garment may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. A bathing suit comprising a water pervious sheath of sheet material defining a garment, said sheath having inner and outer layers at the breast portion thereof, and a pair of inserts of cellular non-absorbent buoyant material confined between said layers to define brassiere cups, each cup insert comprising a plurality of portions flexed in one direction only, said layers being stitched together along the edges of said portions to maintain said insert portions in selected flexed shape, each cup defining insert including a plurality of narrow elongated strips arranged side by side with the upper strip following the contour of the top edge of the garment.

2. A bathing suit comprising a water pervious sheath of sheet material defining a garment, said sheath having inner and outer layers at the breast portion thereof, and a pair of inserts of cellular non-absorbent buoyant material confined between said layers to define brassiere cups, each cup insert comprising a plurality of portions flexed in one direction only, said layers being stitched together along the edges of said portions to maintain said insert portions in a selected flexed shape, each cup defining insert including a plurality of elongated strips arranged side by side at the upper part of said cup and a configured part in edge abutment with the lowermost strip and flexed to form the lower part of said cup.

3. A bathing suit comprising a water pervious sheath of sheet material defining a garment, said sheath having inner and outer layers at the breast portion thereof, and a pair of inserts of cellular non-absorbent buoyant material confined between said layers to define brassiere cups, each cup insert comprising a plurality of portions flared in one direction only, said layers being stitched together along the edges of said portions to maintain said insert portions in a selected flexed shape, second buoyant inserts extending across the upper rear portion of said garment, and third buoyant elongated strip inserts arranged side by side and extending from front to back of said garment below said first and second inserts with the ends thereof extending substantially perpendicularly to said first and second inserts.

4. A bathing suit comprising a water pervious sheath of sheet material defining a garment, said sheath having inner and outer layers at the breast portion thereof, and a pair of inserts of cellular non-absorbent buoyant material confined between said layers .to define brassiere cups, each cup insert comprising a plurality of portions flexed in one direction only, said layers being stitched together along the edges of said portions to maintain said insert portions in a selected flexed shape, said insert portions constituting pieces of sheet material of uniform thickness.

5. A bathing suit comprising a water pervious sheath of sheet material defining a garment, said sheath having inner and outer layers at the breast portion thereof, and a pair of inserts of cellular non-absorbent buoyant material confined between said layers to define brassiere cups, each cup insert comprising a plurality of portions flexed in one direction only, said layers being stitched together along the edges of said portions to maintain said insert portions in a selected flexed shape, said insert portions being formed from sheet material, some inserts being of different thicknesses at different parts thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 842,715 Scott Jan. 29, 1907 (Other references on following page) 

